They call it “dark traffic” - ads that are not seen by tech-savvy users who have excellent ad blockers.

Not surprised that its growing. The web is unusable without an ad blocker and its only getting worse, and will continue to get worse every month.

  • Jason2357@lemmy.ca
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    5 days ago

    Exactly, adblockers don’t block a static <div> on the page with some text, an image and a link. It’s only the user-tracking, obtrusive ad-networks they block. Every old-school form of advertising didn’t track users and did just fine. Even today, billboards are priced based on the amount of traffic on the highway, not based on checking inside each car and building a profile on each driver (though I wouldn’t put it past them trying to figure out how to do that soonish).

    • burntbacon@discuss.tchncs.de
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      5 days ago

      God, I can just see the wet dreams of an advertising exec now. If an australian bloke can replicate million dollar systems with $100, the advertising companies can surely wank out the money for license plate readers a quarter mile ahead of their billboard with good identification. The new electronic billboards already switch what ad they’re showing every half minute or so now, and I bet they could do what ze big boiz do with the auctioning of ads.

      I think right now most of the US doesn’t allow random API access to license plate and registration data, but I really have no idea… How much do you think companies would bribe pay for some laws to be changed about that?

      • Jason2357@lemmy.ca
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        5 days ago

        Sure, the gov may not allow random API access to license plate registration data, but who knows how many license plates and associated identity are somehow scooped up by some data broker somewhere? You know those parking lots that require an app where you pay parking by entering your licence plate, then logging in with Google/Apple ID, and paying with a credit card? Fuuuuu